Peanut-planter.



J. B. AYERS.

PEANUT PLANTER.

(Application led Ang. 15, 1899.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shut l.

No'. sas-,635. Patented oct. 24, |399.v

No. 635,635. Y Patented oct. 24, |899.

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PEANUT PLANTER. (Application tiled Aug. 15, 1899.)

4 Sheds-Sheet 2,

(Nn Model.)

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fw Mw Patented Oct. 24, 1899.

J. R. AYERS.

PEANUT PLANTER.

(Application led Aug. 15, 1899.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I(No Model.)

Tn: Nonms PETERS cafvnoaumafwnsnmmon, u. nv

No. 635,635. Patented out. 24, |899. lR. Avans.

PEANUT PLANTER.

(Application led Aug. 15,' 1899.) (N0 MDCIEL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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Nirnn STATES JAMES R. AYERS, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.

PEANUT-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 6351635, dated October 24, 1899.

Application tiled August 15,V 1899. Serial No. 727,291. (No model.) I

To @ZZ whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. AYERS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Petersburg, in the county ot' Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Peanut Planters; and I dophereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in peanut-planters, and especially that patented to me August l0, 1886, No. 346,976.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a side elevation of my improved planter. Fig. 2 is a section taken through a portion of the hopper to more clearly show the seed-dropping mechanism. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my trench-cutting shoe. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the machine with the hopper removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the metal shields or plates for front of planter. Fig. 6 is a detail cross-section taken on line x00, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the seed-chute and means of connecting it to the hopper. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective View of a portion of the chutefastening. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of two of the links of the feeding-chain. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of two of the links with my cup-closin g shield attached. Figs. 1l and 'l2 are detail views of the shield. Fig. 13 is a top view of the frame with Vthe hopper removed, showing the arrangement ot the braces 43 and the coverers 44. Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the coverer 44 and cuff 45 in position. Fig. 15 is a view of the slotted cuit 45 and set-screw 46.

The frame of my improved planter will be understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 13, the numeral l designating the side pieces of the frame, 28 the bottom or bed-piece, and 43 the wedge-shaped piece between the bottom and side pieces to give the bottom the proper slant upon the ground, all being held :firmly by the b'olts ffff, which also hold the brackets g and h on the top of the side pieces, which brackets in turn hold in place the hopper 2, by means of bolts/L' and j. This hopper is provided with the inclined bottom 4, having the nozzle 5,l through which traverses the cupchain 10 in its upward movement. The seed is raised by the cups 11 and discharged from the cups as they open downward on their rotation around the flange-pulley 9, but is retained on the rear of the cup in advance by the chute l2 until it arrives near the ground, where it is discharged accurately and at regular intervals as the cups leave the chute as they rotate about the lower pulley 13.

By reference to Figs. l, 2, 7, and 8 it will be seen that I construct the chute and attach it to the hopper in a novel manner. The outer part of the chute is composed ot' three piecesthe grooved wooden piece 24 (shown in Fig. 7) and the two metal pieces 24h, same figure, attached to same. These two pieces project slightly beyond the inner surface of the cupchain as it traverses the chute and are contacted by the inner cushion 19 at the points cc. This cushion-plate 19 may be considered a part of the chute and is held in actual contact with the side pieces 24b by the action of the spring-plate 20, riveted crosswise to the cushion-plate about midway of its length. This spring-plate 2O ts loosely over the projections 18 of the hanger-plates 17, the same projections, by means of pins at their outer extremities, also holding the bracket 24,which is secured to the wood piece 24L about midway its length by the screw d.

The hangers 17 are loosely fastened to the back of the hopper by screws through holes at their upper ends, and the grooved wooden piece 24a'is gently pressed against the cupchain by the small spiral spring 23, held in place by the screw 22, which is screwed into the back of the hopper through holes through the hanger-plates17,as shown in Fig. 8. Thus it will be seen that the grooved wooden piece 24 being held lightly against the cups retains the seed in its proper place on the rear of the cups as they descend, and the cushion-plate 19 prevents the chain from vibrating away from the grooved wooden piece to any appreciable extent, as it otherwise might do from the jarring of the machine or stiffness of links, and the pressure of the cushion-plate is upon vthe metal side pieces and not upon the chain,

except as the chain may vibrate against it.

Upon the upper side of the base-piece 2S are secured the slotted braces 43, which converge to and are securely held together in IOO front by a horizontal bolt traversing same and an intervening projection or bearing of the hitch-iron 29. The rear ends of the braces are secured to the bed-piece by bolts, which also serve to hold the slotted cutl's 45, having the set-screws 4G, which control the position of the covering-knives 44, the slotin the cuffs and the corresponding ones in the braces forming secure side bearings for the coverers. These converging braces, besides affording suitable bearings for the coverin g-knives,p1`fe vent the bed-piece 28 from splitting and securely brace the whole frame, as well as the hitch-iron,to which their front ends are bolted.

Upon the front of the frame is the dratt or hitch iron 2E), which has the short projection 30 on top of the base or bed piece 28 intervening between the braces 43, and also hav-- ing on the bottom of the hed-piece the longer projection 30, fastened to the bed-piece by the bolt 301. The hitch-iron under the bedpiece has the hollow or recess 3l, and in this recess is pivoted the front end of the shoe or trench opener 34 by a pin traversing the holes 32 on each side of the recess and the hole 35 in the front end of the shoe. more securely hold the shoe in place and make the same adjustable as to depth, the top of the shoe is provided at or near its rear end with the lug or shelf 36, traversing the open interior of the shoe and is adapted to engage with the teeth 38 on the angled casting 39, adj ustably bolted to the bottom of the bedpiece through its slotted arm 40.

To prot-ectand strengthen the machine, I employ the two metal shields 4l, the front ends of which, 4l, form slanting fenders for the machine, and being bolted to the hitchiron the two fenders and the hitch-iron serve to brace each other. The bottoms of these shields lit closely the bed-piece 23 and receive the principal wear, while the lower edges of the flanges 43a fit closely the sides of the shoe 34, preferably on a bevel to correspond to the bevel on the lower part of the sides of the shoe, so that these flanges serve in combination with the shoe to forni the trench, they shaping the upper part of the trench and the shoe 4I the lower part at the same time that they prevent any opening being exposed above the shoe when that is lowered to deepen the trench or to compensate for wear. The distance of dropping is regulated within certain limits by diierent-sized pinions connecting the upper sprocket'pinion with a pinion on flange-pulley shaft; but when the distance is to be greatly increased, as in changing from planting peanuts to planting corn at long distances, I prevent every second cup from filling or all, except every third, as preferred. To do this, I close, as desired, the spaces intervening between the cups with the curved metal shields 25, having the slanting lugs or projections 27 entering the beveled openings 26 in the body of the cup-links and held there by the spring of the shield itself.

IIavin g thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A planter having an endless seed-conveying cup-chain combined with a chute to insure regularity of dropping, the chute vibrating with the chain, and held in actual contact with the cups by spring action, a spring-actuated cushion-plate pressing upon the inner edges of the chute to prevent the chain from vibrating away from the chute and mounted upon and vibrating with the saine hangers as suspend the chute.

2. In a planter provided with an endless seed-conveying cup-chain, the detachable shields adapted to close the spaces between the cups, to prevent the cups from filling.

3. A planter having the bottoms of the side pieces of the fra-me connected in front by a transverse bed-piece having intervening wedges between the same and the side pieces to give the bed-piece the proper slant upon the ground, converging slotted braces secured upon the upper side of said bed-piece and bolted in front to the hitch-iron, springtensioned coveringknives mounted upon said braces and fitting in slots in same with means for adjusting their cutting depth substantially as described.

4. A planter consisting of a frame having a shoe secured to the bottom thereof, metal shields bolted to the hitchsiron and forming slanting fenders for the front of the planter, and covering the bottom of the bed-piece, and provided with flanges which combine with the shoe to form the trench.

5. A planter having a hitch-iron secured to the front of the frame and provided with a recess in which is pivoted the front end of the shoe or opener having at its rear end a shelf or lug which engages at ditfl'erent heights with a ratchet-casting bolted to the under side of the bed of the frame.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES R. AYERS.

lVitnesses: l

T. D. B. DUNLOP, THos. G. W ALTER. 

